Chapter 433

Chapter 433: Fusion

The flatbed, devoid of any suspension or shock-absorbing system, plummeted from the middle of the sky and landed with a jarring thud on the hard ground.

The sudden impact nearly caused everyone aboard to retch up their meals from the previous day.

The endless wall of trees seemed to have been breached, and a torrent of extraordinary beasts surged forth, steadily closing in on the superpowered individuals on the flatbed.

At that moment, “Sleepless” abruptly opened her eyes and shouted,

“Where’s the Captain?”

Right, where is the Captain?

The group, still basking in the relief of their narrow escape, suddenly remembered that Wang Xiao was not on the flatbed.

Recalling the scene of the Giant Tree’s collapse, a wave of dread washed over everyone.

Many of their eyes turned blood-red in an instant, urging Luke to slow the wind speed and turn back for a rescue. Yet, some superpowered individuals wore expressions of reluctance, clearly hesitant to return.

Just then, a streak of light flashed through the group, and Shi Jin appeared at the edge of the flatbed.

“In critical moments, you can still count on me.”

She smiled at the group.

It was then that everyone realized this superpowered individual, who could manipulate the flow of time within a limited area, had been silent for some time.

Shi Jin stood on the edge of the flatbed, one hand gripping the sail formed by another superpowered individual, while the other dragged a massive log taller than a person.

“Can you bring the Captain back?”

A superpowered individual looked at Shi Jin with hopeful eyes and asked.

“Wang Xiao?”

Shi Jin replied, and the person nodded. Then, they saw Shi Jin shift her gaze to the log she was dragging:

“Isn’t he right here?”

In that moment, the only sound was the rushing wind as the flatbed sped forward.

“This… is the Captain?”

Someone asked, turning to “Sleepless,” who could see the biological field and thus discern the truth.

“Sleepless” placed his hand on the log and nodded confidently,

“This is definitely the Captain, though… I don’t know why he’s in this state.”

“Just tell us if he’s dead or not.”

One individual, clearly impatient, cut through “Sleepless”’s vague explanation.

“He’s definitely not dead.”

“Sleepless” quickly clarified:

“The Captain is in a state akin to deep sleep, but I can see his biological field; it hasn’t vanished but has entered a flickering, active state.”

“Flickering… what does that mean?”

The person pressed further, seeking clarity.

“Sleepless” pondered for a moment before responding,

“You can think of it as a flickering light.”

The group fell silent. Humanity’s understanding of superpowers remains rudimentary, and the origin of these abilities is still a mystery.

What “Sleepless” said was difficult for them to grasp, but they understood that Wang Xiao wouldn’t be dying anytime soon, which was enough to ease their worries.

They temporarily secured the log that Wang Xiao had transformed into in the center of the flatbed, tying it to the sail, and then continued to fend off the enemies pursuing them.

With the Captain in a deep slumber, the command fell to the experienced duo of “Fresnel” and Ink Drench.

After exchanging a glance, they quickly made their decision:

“Retreat.”

They had already achieved enough. First, they demonstrated that gathering multiple individuals in a confined space could somewhat resist the effects of the biological field.

So far, everyone felt slightly dizzy, but there were no signs of mental confusion.

Second, their provocation of the will of the mycelium had proven effective, even prompting it to deploy new types of extraordinary beasts to hunt them. This information had to be delivered to Hope City.

With this in mind, the two signaled the superpowered individuals controlling the wind to accelerate, while the ground ahead began to desertify once more.

This time, the desertification was more severe; even Mercury, who had been prepared, was caught in it.

At the critical moment, Luke and another superpowered individual summoned a fierce gale, lifting everyone off the ground and allowing them to safely navigate through the sandstorm.

Once “Mercury” reverted to its flatbed form, Ink Drench resolved to send Wang Xiao back to class to brush up on his physics knowledge—at least enough to create something like a glider to prevent such incidents in the future.

Two hours later, as the sun dipped toward the horizon, the entire team made it back to the outskirts of Hope City.

When the city walls came into view, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. But remembering Wang Xiao’s warnings before the battle, they remained cautious until everyone passed the rationality check and entered the lift by the city wall.

The soldiers on the walls had already received orders from the spire and were meticulously inspecting everyone’s condition.

Out of the twenty individuals, nineteen were fine, and after returning to Hope City, even their mild headaches quickly vanished.

The only issue was that the last person had turned into a large log.

After repeatedly confirming that the log was indeed Wang Xiao, the city defense army’s team leader trembled as he made a call.

A moment later, a familiar voice came through:

“What happened?”

The team leader briefly explained the situation and received a concise command from Sir Arthur:

“Bring him here.”

—

Inner City, Research Institute.

Arthur, Ji Yongxing, and Zhou Zhuo stood around a three-meter-tall cylindrical glass tank filled with nutrient solution, observing a log slightly smaller than the container floating inside.

The three remained silent for a long while. Finally, Ji Yongxing broke the silence:

“Should we take an X-ray to check?”

“Yes.”

Arthur, as if snapping out of a daze, nodded in agreement.

The glass tank was swiftly removed, and two minutes later, it was returned by a mechanical arm.

“What’s the verdict?”

Arthur and Zhou Zhuo asked simultaneously as Ji Yongxing examined the X-ray.

“Well, there’s nothing wrong, but…”

“But what?”

Ji Yongxing scratched his head:

“Wang Xiao is currently upside down in there…”

This wasn’t a major issue; Arthur felt a wave of relief.

Arthur had already heard at least five verbal reports about the exploration team’s ordeal, with dozens of written accounts still awaiting his review.

At least he was well-informed about what had transpired during the day.

Wang Xiao’s current state was peculiar; Arthur could tell he wasn’t dead but simply couldn’t wake up, likely due to the events of the previous battle.

During the group’s attacks, Wang Xiao’s absorption of life force, and the Giant Tree’s regeneration, it seemed that some degree of fusion had occurred between the two.

The shared consciousness with the mycelium was not ideal for a human, but fortunately, Wang Xiao was back in Hope City. Lin Qingliu believed he could overcome this challenge and even emerge stronger from it.